Thank you to Alfonso for directing me to another nice Improvisation; this one is No. 15 in C minor. It's also pretty and sounds to me like something that would be perfect for a soap opera or an ultra-romantic/sad movie like "Love Story". In fact, Poulenc wrote it as an homage to the French singer, Edith Piaf, who led a dramatic, yet short life.

A few years ago, I heard Chris play Poulenc’s Novelette no. 3 and fell instantly hard in love, and just had to play the piece myself. Unfortunately, and much to my chagrin, that was a time when I was experimenting with sound; I did something dumb with my recording setup and got a real weird sound on my recording of the no.3 Novelette. While lately I have been learning new Poulenc pieces, some Improvisations, I remembered how much I enjoyed the Novelette and how I really needed to make a better recording. So here it is. I memorized it and figured I might as well video-record it too. The links are below.

About the Novelette: Poulenc based it on a theme by de Falla, specifically de Falla’s “El amor brujo” and the piece within called, “Pantomime”. It was the no. 11 piece in the ballet version and is also called “Intermedio”. The piece is arranged for solo piano and I am very interested in trying it out on my piano. I’ve only briefly glanced at it so far, but I think I’m going to like it (or love it?...)

Great playing, sumptuous sound. I'd have wished for a little more flexibility and dynamic contrast especially in the Novellette. The Improvisation is better in that respect but could still use a but more rubato. Pedal usage seems right, I don't perceive these as too dry.

Great playing, sumptuous sound. I'd have wished for a little more flexibility and dynamic contrast especially in the Novellette. The Improvisation is better in that respect but could still use a but more rubato. Pedal usage seems right, I don't perceive these as too dry.

Thank you, twice - for listening, and for teaching me about pedaling in Poulenc's music.

_________________"Simplicity is the highest goal, achievable when you have overcome all difficulties." ~ Frederic Chopin

I very much enjoyed that Improvisation. It reminded me of times when I've heard cocktail piano in hotels.. but you play so much better than the typical cocktail pianist (the piece is also obviously superior to the usual fare). Really lovely.

Hi Monica,This Improv was really nice! I love the simple romantic nature of the melody, which you voice very effectively. You play this very well all together but I really especially liked when you have to bring the melody out in the cello's register; that was really very effective. I kept trying to place this in some epic romantic work like Dr. Zhivago or something. Very nice. Regarding the Novelette, I think you do a good job again with the voicing, especially as you have to share it between the two hands/thumbs. For me, the tempo could be a bit faster, but I don't even know what the indicated tempo is.

Thanks for the submissions.Eddy

_________________Eddy M. del Rio, MD"A smattering will not do. They must know all the keys, major and minor, and they must literally 'know them backwards.'" - Josef Lhevinne

I suppose I need to go more to cocktails at hotel lounges and watch more Dr. Zhivagos, because listening to this brought me no such memories, which is just as well, because it allowed me to enjoy this piece without preconceived ideas.

This improvisation I really like and pronouce it the best of the set, for all my pronunciation is worth, and am glad Poulenc kept it to the last. I was aware it existed and was aware it was dedicated to Edith Piaf. This had put me off at first, but having forgetten this, I was able to listen with clean ears!

Good work!

_________________Richard Willmer"Please do not shoot the pianistHe is doing his best."Oscar Wilde: Impressions of America: Leadville

Richard, are you as good in foreign accents as you are in foreign languages? Do you speak English with a British pronounciation? Can you do English with a French, Russian, Italian accent? That would be fun.

_________________Eddy M. del Rio, MD"A smattering will not do. They must know all the keys, major and minor, and they must literally 'know them backwards.'" - Josef Lhevinne

Richard, are you as good in foreign accents as you are in foreign languages? Do you speak English with a British pronounciation? Can you do English with a French, Russian, Italian accent? That would be fun.[/quote]

Just a little word play, because to pronounce also means to make a statement, but yes, I can do that. In matter of fact, when someone says I do not speak language A with an English accent I immediately do so, just to please!

_________________Richard Willmer"Please do not shoot the pianistHe is doing his best."Oscar Wilde: Impressions of America: Leadville

I absolutely love this recording! I was literally amazed at how great this sounded playing through my bookshelf speakers! The recording quality is terrific! Can I ask how you went about it? Did you mix it all yourself, or did you hire an engineer? I am just wondering, because I am a mixing engineer myself, and can really appreciate it when I hear a good mix. Thank you very much for sharing this with us!

Last edited by Leena on Tue Jan 03, 2012 9:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Hi Monica,these both are very good performances! Very subtle and expressive playing of these lovely two pieces. I have enjoyed them very much and didn´t find anything to nitpick. (The pedaling is a matter of taste IMO. For me it´s o.k.)

These are very lovely performances and such elegant pieces. When I was giving piano lessons, I think my more advanced students would of loved these pieces, to bad I discover them a bit late. Thanks for sharing!

The improvisation is a lovely piece of music and your playing is wonderful. I liked the novelette too but the improvisation is gorgeous.

Thank you, Robert. The Improvisation is indeed nice, but I still like the Novelette better. There's just something about it that just grabs me!

synergy543 wrote:

Very lovely pieces and nicely played. Its interesting how light the feeling of the Improvisation is throughout, yet it has such a dark cloudy ending. Ah, such is life sometimes.

Your playing is quite true to the score too.

I was a little afraid to read this, Greg, but good - I'm glad we are not arguing! Thank you for the nice words. And yes, life can be dark and cloudy. Good thing there is plenty of dark and cloudy music to play. It's more interesting....

_________________"Simplicity is the highest goal, achievable when you have overcome all difficulties." ~ Frederic Chopin

Hi Monica, these pieces are wonderful in scope and breadth. I didn't know that Poulenc wrote an improvisation dedicated to Edith Piaf. She was a sensational spark in the chanson Française. You strive to capture her essence well here. However, one can always go to extremes as that fits her personality. Towards the end, I wished Poulenc doubled the melody more emphatically in octaves. Piaf was no dainty Parisian - her musical life was enigmatic with an emotional ferocity that made her stand out above the rest; her contours are roughened with a serrated edge - when rubbed the wrong way, watch out!; and a no apologies attitude for her origins. Again this is all a part of her unique charm. This was all expressed in her song Non, je ne regrette rien (No, I don't regret a thing). She was also very generous to upstart singers too, like my fellow Armenian, Charles Aznavour. Have you seen the film, La Vie En Rose? I think you would like it. It's an amazing biographical movie that captures Piaf's being. I love the movie, along with your playing here...

The Novelette was charming too, but felt more inspired by the Improvisation, as you can tell.

Your recorded sound gets better every time... You've found a nice sweet spot for your mics or you've changed them. I can hear that the piano has developed its own character with time - it's tone and timbre sound different than recordings made a few years ago.OK, off to watch the Super Bowl - GO PATRIOTS!

George

_________________"Nobility of spirit has more to do with simplicity than ostentation, wisdom rather than wealth, commitment rather than ambition." ~Riccardo Muti

Last edited by 88man on Tue Feb 07, 2012 3:43 am, edited 1 time in total.

Thank you, George. I do like the Improvisation No. 15, but to me the Novelette is deeper and just so delicious and romantic and seductive and I wish I could rub it onto my whole body andwear it!

I'm very glad you think my sound is okay. No, I have not changed anything - I decided to stop fooling around with the settings and placement all the time and just stick to what I had developed. Maybe my piano tone is changing too; I never thought of that before, but I guess that would happen over time.

No, I did not know about that movie. But since you and Eddy both say it's good, I will definitely put it on my 'to watch' list. Thank you for the recommendation!

Edit: btw - I'm watching the game too, but really only the commercials and the half-time show. Madonna was pretty good!

_________________"Simplicity is the highest goal, achievable when you have overcome all difficulties." ~ Frederic Chopin

Thank you, George. I do like the Improvisation No. 15, but to me the Novelette is deeper and just so delicious and romantic and seductive and I wish I could rub it onto my whole body andwear it!

Should I have the Novelette score monogrammed on a silk bathrobe for you by Valentines Day? Monica, I had to listen again, and there's no doubt that you have two sensational winners here! Perhaps this can be stated of any music that inspires one at the deepest level: If you feel that the music just vividly transported you to another place, then you have not only captured the soul of the music, but have indeed shown the listener a clear picture of how this place looks through the power of one's performance. On most days, we are faced peering down a blank keyboard for answers, but on those rare and special moments when the portal is open for a short time, seize the unique opportunity to be transported to that special place... You must have pressed the "Record" button during one of these moments here... This is also my view toward improvisation.

And the sound is not "okay." It's excellent for living room acoustics! Don't change a thing as you've found the sweet spot.

George

_________________"Nobility of spirit has more to do with simplicity than ostentation, wisdom rather than wealth, commitment rather than ambition." ~Riccardo Muti

Should I have the Novelette score monogrammed on a silk bathrobe for you by Valentines Day?

Yes, please...

88man wrote:

Monica, I had to listen again, and there's no doubt that you have two sensational winners here! Perhaps this can be stated of any music that inspires one at the deepest level: If you feel that the music just vividly transported you to another place, then you have not only captured the soul of the music, but have indeed shown the listener a clear picture of how this place looks through the power of one's performance. On most days, we are faced peering down a blank keyboard for answers, but on those rare and special moments when the portal is open for a short time, seize the unique opportunity to be transported to that special place... You must have pressed the "Record" button during one of these moments here... This is also my view toward improvisation.

And the sound is not "okay." It's excellent for living room acoustics! Don't change a thing as you've found the sweet spot.

George

Thank you, George. It's great when we can lose ourselves in music, isn't it? I'm practicing Granados' Goyescas No. 2 again, which I still love dearly, except I love it so much that I get 'lost' in the music all the time. I get to the end but can hardly remember what I played. That's probably not a good thing; I need to stay more focused and work on my technique.

musical-md wrote:

pianolady wrote:

to me the Novelette is deeper and just so delicious and romantic and seductive and I wish I could rub it onto my whole body and wear it!

What's wrong, Eddy?

Actually, it seems I'm not the only one who has these kinds of thoughts. In part of a book I'm reading now....

One of the best sources of income for professional musicians was teaching, especially of aristocracy’s daughters. These were fertile grounds—in more ways than one. Private music lessons were not only lucrative; they also offered certain opportunities against which the only defense was parental vigilance. In a satriric report that reveals the pervasiveness of concerns about this danger, a 1754 article in the Connoisseur announced the invention of a “female thermometer” for measuring “the exact temperature of a lady’s passions.” The device, created by Mr. Ayscough of Ludgate Hill, consisted of a glass tube filled with a mixture of distilled extracts of lady’s love, maidenhair, and “wax of virgin bees.” It could supposedly detect the full range of feminine response, from “inviolable modesty” to “abandoned impudence,” and was remarkable accurate, claimed the author, when used at the theater and the opera.

_________________"Simplicity is the highest goal, achievable when you have overcome all difficulties." ~ Frederic Chopin

Thank you, George. I do like the Improvisation No. 15, but to me the Novelette is deeper and just so delicious and romantic and seductive and I wish I could rub it onto my whole body andwear it!

I'm very glad you think my sound is okay. No, I have not changed anything - I decided to stop fooling around with the settings and placement all the time and just stick to what I had developed. Maybe my piano tone is changing too; I never thought of that before, but I guess that would happen over time.

No, I did not know about that movie. But since you and Eddy both say it's good, I will definitely put it on my 'to watch' list. Thank you for the recommendation!

Edit: btw - I'm watching the game too, but really only the commercials and the half-time show. Madonna was pretty good!

yes i too find the novelette beautiful and seductive a lot of french music is i also love melancolie by poulenc

I downloaded these a few weeks ago and loved them. Usually when I save an MP3 to my computer I post a reply to thank the pianist, but hesitated this time because I noticed that the pieces had been uploaded several months ago and I don't know if everyone else minds that this thread never dies.Also, since I'm totally new to Poulenc's solo pieces, I have nothing intelligent to say except "thank you" to Monica and also to express my surprise at how different this material is from Ravel - only a generation's difference - and even Satie. Hopefully, I'll have time to explore it a little more.

I'm so glad to read that! Thank you!! We admins work diligently in selecting new recordings and accepting new members who we feel will enhance our vast collection and also provide some intellectual as well as some social interaction on the forum.

And I agree about Poulenc...

_________________"Simplicity is the highest goal, achievable when you have overcome all difficulties." ~ Frederic Chopin

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